Wigmore Hall
Black British Musical Theatre 1900-1950, Wigmore Hall review – a disappointing missed opportunityWednesday, 22 September 2021
The Wigmore Hall is a bastion of white musicians playing the music of white composers to a largely white audience and it is to the credit of the management that, in seeking to diversify, it staged this lecture-recital on the history of black... Read more... |
Esther Yoo, Yekwon Sunwoo, Wigmore Hall review - Korean duo needs time to developTuesday, 21 September 2021
The duo partnership between violinist Esther Yoo and pianist Yekwon Sunwoo is still at a very early stage. The announcements which both musicians made to the audience from the Wigmore Hall platform were almost completely inaudible, but it did sound... Read more... |
Devieilhe, Tharaud, Wigmore Hall review - French soprano attracts young audienceMonday, 13 September 2021
Soprano Sabine Devieilhe (pronounced Devielle) and pianist Alexandre Tharaud are both well on their way to becoming "Monuments Nationaux" in France. When their most recent album Chanson d'Amour (Erato/Warner) was launched in September 2020... Read more... |
Carducci Quartet, Wigmore Hall review - complexity and depthMonday, 12 July 2021
This programme was a bit of a calling card from the Carducci Quartet. They have previously recorded all three works, and the three composers, Haydn, Shostakovich, Beethoven, clearly play to their strengths. Add to that a modest running time, the... Read more... |
Dunedin Consort, Butt, Wigmore Hall review – bijou BachMonday, 05 July 2021
The Edinburgh-based Dunedin Consort are regular visitors to the Wigmore Hall, and their concert on Saturday night was greeting by a full house. In these Covid times, that meant an audience of just 200, but from the applause, they were clearly... Read more... |
Gweneth Ann Rand, Simon Lepper, Wigmore Hall review - a richly hued collection of songsFriday, 04 June 2021
In the final concert marking the Wigmore Hall’s 120-year anniversary, soprano Gweneth Ann Rand and pianist Simon Lepper gave a programme of songs curated by Rand, titled "An Imperfect Tapestry". Described by Rand as "a personal reflection of black... Read more... |
Wigmore Hall at Portman Square / Wang, LSO, Tilson Thomas, LSO St Luke's review - al fresco chamber, full orchestra indoorsTuesday, 01 June 2021
Sometimes the big musical institutions follow off-piste trailblazers. John Gilhooly of the Wigmore Hall has been a hero in lockdown year, keeping musicians paid up and performing to audiences live or via livestream (or both); but it was clarinettist... Read more... |
András Schiff, Wigmore Hall review - mystery marvels mesmeriseSaturday, 29 May 2021
As András Schiff remarked from the stage early in this fairly remarkable evening, his usual audience knows he’s not about to play Rachmaninov. The idea for this concert last night and his return visit today, is that we turn up not knowing exactly... Read more... |
Sean Shibe, Wigmore Hall review - a bewitching hourThursday, 20 May 2021
Last time I was in a Wigmore audience for a Sean Shibe recital, his electric-guitar second half had many regulars fleeing the hall (he later said that the amplification had been meddled with – it was too loud, though the work in question, Georges... Read more... |
Booth, Nash Ensemble, Wigmore Hall online review - contemporary music programme lacks diversityWednesday, 28 April 2021
Wigmore Hall does not dish up a great deal of contemporary music, preferring a menu of mainstream chamber music. But this programme by the Nash Ensemble offered a different kind of mainstream: within the world of contemporary music this was a middle... Read more... |
Brian Elias Focus Day, Concert 1, Wigmore Hall online review - portrait of the artist in miniatureMonday, 26 April 2021
What comes to mind when you think of Brian Elias? The violence and humming, background threat of The Judas Tree, his score for Kenneth MacMillan’s brutal final ballet? The outpouring of Electra Mourns, cor anglais a schizophrenic double for the... Read more... |
Ibragimova, Davies, Sampson, Arcangelo, Wigmore Hall online review – baroque masterpieces played with verveThursday, 01 April 2021
The baroque music ensemble Arcangelo have been around since 2010 but I hadn’t heard them before this pair of concerts streamed from Wigmore Hall in the last week. But what I heard has certainly encouraged me to seek out more – and they have quickly... Read more... |
